The deep scars left behind by the recession and the decades of depopulation that preceded it are slowly starting to heal in some corners of rural Ireland.
Vacancy and dereliction have been a growing issue in parts of south Tipperary for years, with rural villages and townlands struggling to stay afloat, as generations of young people leave and never return.
Since rural areas were included in the vacant property refurbishment grant scheme in July of 2022, Tipperary has seen one of the highest levels of uptake in the country. To date, the county has seen 380 applications under the schemes for both vacant and derelict properties, with 248 approved applications and 10 grants now fully drawn down.
While there has been a huge interest in the grants, fears have also been raised that the payment is driving up the cost of vacant and derelict properties.
Last week, young farmer Chris Fairbrother received final confirmation from Tipperary County Council that he would receive the full €70,000 payment for his restored, 119-year-old farmhouse in the townland of Killinan, just outside Thurles.
The property required a full restoration, including a new roof and floor, with only the thick stone walls left untouched.
“Last week, when I was granted the full €70,000, it was a massive relief. Then I knew I could pay off the loan that I borrowed to rebuild the place,” he said.
“I had no trouble finishing the process with them [Tipperary County Council]. I sent in all the paperwork, they came out to see the place when it was finished. I guess, if the finish to the house is done well, it is going to pass, no problem. If you were chancing your arm, there might be some trouble.
“There are a lot of derelict houses around, old farmhouses or houses that just weren’t ever finished. They’ve been there for years and years. You’d like to see them back in use and the €70,000 in this grant would go a long way to finishing that.”
In addition to the €70,000, Mr Fairbrother also received a grant of €6,500 from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland towards insulation. He says his experience with dealing with the county council was largely positive, but the paperwork involved in the grants could be a barrier to some people.
“I didn’t know much about the grant at the start and even the [local authority] inspector who came out to me didn’t know much at that early stage. It was a case of build it and see how it goes,” he said.
“I got it finished last November and put in all my invoices in January and I am due to get a pay out this week. If I am being honest, I found it a bit confusing. I wouldn’t be good with paperwork, so that was a challenge.
“I was using direct labour, hiring my own electrician and plumber and tiler, so I was going in and out to the hardware shop every day picking up bits and pieces. It was very hard, for a finish, to get all of that down on paper in the way that was needed for the grant. It could be done and I did it, but it took a lot of time and was a real headache.
“But other than that, I think they [the local authority] worked very well. The first time I rang them, they were out to see the place in about two weeks. It was the same then after I finished up the job and sent the paperwork back, they were out again in about two weeks. I found them very good to deal with, in fairness.”
Auctioneer John FitzGerald believes the grants are driving up the price of vacant and derelict properties, which is eroding the usefulness of the schemes
Further south in Clonmel, local auctioneer, John FitzGerald, is starting to see the fruits of regeneration in the town. Just last year, he oversaw the sale of the former Clonmel Arms Hotel, a landmark building which had been lying derelict for more than 20 years.
“Scars were left on every town and village in Ireland after the recession and Clonmel is no different. I wouldn’t call it a crisis of dereliction exactly but we had our fair share,” he said.
“The old Clonmel Arms Hotel was a dangerous building, to the point that the county council had put in place an enforcement order to ask the then owners to make it safe.
“We got that sold, we found buyers for it. That was a significant site for the town, it bordered on to three different streets. That building has been knocked and is now at an advanced stage of planning for a new hotel. Something like that is a big move forward, it’s a game-changer. A big project like that brings other shops and developments with it.”
At 26 years of age, Independent councillor Máirín McGrath is one of the youngest county councillors in Ireland. Based in Newcastle, at the very southern end of Tipperary, she believes the lack of rural housing is forcing people her age to emigrate and the new housing scheme could reverse that trend.
“This has the potential to revitalise rural communities. At the moment, people are struggling to get houses in the places where they grew up. Planning is a massive issue here. Wastewater treatment is a big issue, we have builders with land, but they can’t build,” she said.
“At the same time, as a young person, I see the housing crisis every day in front of my face. Young people my age just can’t see a way forward. People are emigrating because they can’t see themselves ever owning a house here.”
While McGrath is a fan of the schemes, she believes a number of changes, such as the introduction of staged payments, would be beneficial.
“Amendments do need to be made. It is only a 13-month window to complete the work, I think that that needs to be extended. In the crisis that we are in, it is really hard to get tradespeople to do the work that needs to be done, and when you get them, it is very expensive,” she said.
“The lack of staged payments is a barrier. When people come and ask me about the grant, I would always flag with them that the payments don’t come into your bank account until all the work is done and signed off. That is a barrier for a lot of people who are trying to access the grant.
“If you don’t have the money up front it can be impossible for people. If we could introduce some sort of a staged payment that would help people access it. We want to see people owning their own home and this would help with that.”
Back in Clonmel, auctioneer John FitzGerald believes the grants are driving up the price of vacant and derelict properties, which is eroding the usefulness of the schemes.
“The vendor is doing well and that’s to be lauded, we’re always happy when the vendor does well,” he said.
“But the value of the grant becomes eroded. That is a symptom of the amount of money that is available. That grant gives people extra bids when they are buying and it means you are in a competition. We have seen properties up 20 per cent since the grant, more than the real value of the property. There is nothing you can do about that in a free economy.”
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